Baked Cauli-Tots

There’s a new book buzzing around called The 52 New Foods Challenge and it’s changing the way families eat. Have you heard of it? Written by the talented Jennifer Tyler Lee, The 52 New Foods Challenge is a family cookbook designed to teach parents and children that eating healthy can be fun.

Like many parents, Jennifer Tyler Lee struggled to get her kids to eat healthy meals. The answer, she discovered, was making it a game. “We’ll try one new food each week,” she told her kids. “You pick!” She called it The 52 New Foods Challenge.

The book is more of a week-by-week guide offering practical tips for parents to initiate healthier eating habits at home. Each week the book presents a new fruit or vegetable to try along with easy recipes to follow.

Several food bloggers – myself included – get the opportunity to create some additional recipes for the foods from the book.

Enter cauli-tots.

Not only do I love the name of these tots, but I also love how much they actually taste like true tator tots! Even the texture is quite similar. This is definitely one that kids will enjoy making and eating. Never buy processed tator tots again; make a large batch of these tots and freeze them for a quick side dish on a busy night.

Baked Cauli-Tots

2 cups raw cauliflower, grated, or pulsed in a food processor to a crumbly meal

1/4 cup uncooked polenta

1 egg

1 TBS chia seeds (optional – but a good way to get some omega-3’s!)

1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

1 hearty dash of turmeric

-Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oiled foil.

– The grated cauliflower will have quite a bit of moisture so we will need to get that out. One way to do this is to place the cauliflower in a colander and lightly salt it; the salt will draw the moisture out and the colander will allow it to drain off (takes about 20-30 minutes). Another way is to use cheesecloth. Work in batches by placing a few handfuls of cauliflower at a time into the cheese cloth and squeeze out all the water (this method is much faster).

– Place cauliflower in a large mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

– Form the tots: Using your hands, scoop out roughly 2 TBS of cauliflower mix and shape into tot-like shapes. However, any shape will do!

– Place all tots on baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until bottoms are brown.

Want to take these tots to a whole other level? Nutrify your dipping sauce with this Beet Ketchup!

Want more inspiring recipes related to the 52 New Foods Challenge? Follow @crunchacolor on twitter and #52NewFoods on Instagram.